Plain Dealer file Former Strongsville City Councilman Patrick Coyne, shown in a file photo, was charged with bribery today.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Strongsville Councilman Patrick Coyne funneled thousands of dollars in bribes through political and charitable accounts and used the money to help buy a condo, federal investigators claim.

Coyne surrendered to the FBI Monday afternoon at a location near his house after the FBI filed a criminal complaint charging the longtime Democratic Party operative with bribery.

Coyne then appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Baughman who released Coyne on a $50,000 unsecured bond. The magistrate judge also put him on house arrest.

An FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland claims Coyne took $20,000 in bribes in early 2008 from Hinckley real estate developer David Terry and used $15,000 of that money to write a check to Smuggler's Baypointe -- developers of a gated condominium complex in Marblehead, Ohio.

The affidavit claims Terry sent $5,000 checks to four different accounts controlled by Coyne. Three of the accounts were the Strongsville Democratic Club, Citizens for Pat Coyne and Strongsville Wildcat Baseball. The fourth account was identified in court as a personal account.

Coyne's lawyer, Craig Weintraub, said he expects an indictment will be forthcoming in the next couple weeks and that Coyne will plead not guilty to any and all charges filed against him. Weintraub said he had discussed potential charges against his client with federal prosecutors but not any specific plea deal.

The attorney said he didn't know why the FBI arrested Coyne prior to an indictment. Coyne resigned his council seat Friday without explanation. Weintraub said he advised his client to step down rather than face the indignity of being asked to leave in the wake of an indictment.

"This is a very difficult, embarrassing situation," Weintraub said of his client's plight.

An indictment against Coyne may include charges that go beyond the accusations made in the complaint, Weintraub said. Although, he did not provide any specifics.

Terry 70, pleaded guilty last year to paying $20,000 to a Strongsville politician that matches Coyne's description to "influence and reward" the official for various dealings in 2007. When questioned by the FBI in July 2010, Terry said he bribed Coyne at a time Terry either had business, or expected to soon have business, before the Strongsville City Council.

"Terry further acknowledged that the payments to Coyne would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Coyne to oppose Terry's interests in the city," an FBI agent wrote in the complaint against Coyne.

Strongsville Council President Michael Daymut had been going on the assumption that the investigation of Coyne did not involve business before the Strongsville Council. He said he did not know what business the FBI affidavit might be alluding to.

"To the best of my knowledge it really had nothing to do with the city council or the administration," he said.

Terry's attorney Jerry Gold said then that his client bribed Coyne for past and future political influence, not necessarily in Strongsville, and that Coyne helped some of Terry's relatives find jobs.

Gold declined to comment Monday on the affidavit or potential charges against Coyne.

Coyne is a well-connected Democrat who worked briefly for then-Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis before going to work for County Prosecutor Bill Mason in 1999. He joined the County Coroner's Office in 2007.

Then-County Corner Frank Miller fired Coyne from his $120,000 job in October, shortly after he was implicated in the Terry bribery scheme. Miller also accused Coyne of stealing campaign money.

County Executive Ed FitzGerald has been conducting a review to determine whether Coyne improperly used his influence in the hiring of several coroner's office employees, including his former campaign chairman and a niece.

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